


Different Paths

by Circuit



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Makoto Niijima Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 03:23:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12160515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circuit/pseuds/Circuit
Summary: Makoto spends the night after her awakening reflecting on the new direction her life has taken, and what exactly the differences are now between herself and her sister.Written for Day 7 of Tumblr's Makoto Niijima Week: Phantom Thief/Persona.





	Different Paths

**Author's Note:**

> Not too happy with how much of this is just chat dialog lifted from the game, but given the nature of how I was handling this prompt, I couldn't really avoid that. As another aside, I really don't enjoy formatting text conversations.

Makoto eased herself down into the bath, letting out a sigh of relief. Her whole body ached and screamed at her, utterly exhausted, and the warm water coupled with the sakura bath salt her sister bought her did wonders for relieving it.

Her phone buzzed beside her, and she opened her message app, seeing the Phantom Thieves’ logo on the new group chat she was in. Sakamoto was still obsessing over the Persona she had just awakened to only a few hours ago.

> **Sakamoto:** It’ll be just like the song! “I’m a phantom, on a steel horse I ride…”

Makoto sighed, in exasperation this time, before sending her response.

> **Makoto** : Don’t say such things. And for the record, I am most certainly not “wanted.”

She paused in thought, answering the question of if she had a license on autopilot as she processed what she sent. She had just joined the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, people that the police were looking into. Does that mean that, technically, she _is_ now wanted? Well, she certainly would be if those pictures leaked. Which reminds her...

> **Makoto** : That aside, mind if I change the topic for a moment?
> 
> **Kitagawa** : What is the matter?
> 
> **Makoto** : I’m sorry, everyone.
> 
> **Makoto** : I know I’m not in any position to be saying that. I truly do…
> 
> **Makoto** : However, I must apologize.
> 
> **Makoto** : It was my actions that dragged you all into this mess.

She started realizing she was completely clogging the chat with her messages, but she couldn’t stop.

> **Makoto** : On top of that, I misunderstood your true intentions in this.
> 
> **Makoto** : If only I could have realized what was happening to Suzui-san too...

Takamaki managed to cut in, interrupting Makoto’s train of thought.

> **Takamaki** : Come on, we don’t need to talk about that now.

Makoto frowned. “I just hit a sore spot, didn’t I…?”

Kitagawa and Sakamoto also cut in, before Makoto could start rambling an apology about that.

> **Kitagawa** : It seems there are still lingering issues on everyone’s minds.
> 
> **Sakamoto** : Now’s not the time to be talking about that shit though!

The chat quickly closed up as they all reaffirmed they need to focus on dealing with the Kaneshiro problem. Makoto ended it with a quick promise not to slow them down, setting her phone aside, and sinking deeper into the bath.

_Kurusu didn’t participate in that discussion… Is that normal for him? Or is he still…_ Makoto shook her head. _No, Sakamoto was right. Now’s not the time to keep dwelling on that. If I’m to keep pace as a Phantom Thief, I need to understand the concepts they’re experienced in._

She opened her eyes, staring up at the bathroom ceiling. “Johanna. My inner self. Why is she a motorcycle? I guess I can’t complain, as I am interested in owning one like Sis used to-” _Sis…_

Her thoughts interrupted her quiet monologue, and she closed her eyes again. _The bank is how Kaneshiro views Shibuya. He robs the people there while he himself keeps moving, leaving no tracks. It’s why the police are powerless to stop him._

She kept her eyes closed as she drew her knees up to her chest. _If a Palace forms simply from someone’s heart distorting like that, does that mean… it’s not just criminals? Could Sis have one, too? One where her home is a prison and I leach off of her?_

“ _Is that what you meant when you said your paths differed?_ ” a voice asked in her head.

“Johanna?” Makoto said, opening her eyes again. She paused. _Was my Persona… speaking to me just now?_

She looked at her phone. The app that the Phantom Thieves used to travel to that Metaverse had appeared once they fled the bank together. She opened it up, staring apprehensively. She just had to say her name, right?

“Sae Niijima.”

“Result found.”

Makoto suddenly felt very cold, despite the bathwater still being fairly hot. Her sister had a Palace. Was this all her fault? Did her sister actually hate her?

She moved the phone away slightly, setting it down, but leaving the app open. She was scared of the next keyword being confirmed

“...our apartment.”

“Condition has not been met.”

She let out a loud sigh of relief, sinking down into the water again. _So it isn’t about me. But, if that’s the case, then where…?_

“Makoto?” Sae’s voice called out. “Are you home?”

“Sis?” Makoto called back. “I’m here! I’m just in the tub!”

“I see,” Sae said through the bathroom door. “Well, do you mind hurrying up? I was hoping to bathe before bed tonight. I have to be at the courthouse early tomorrow.”

“Candidate found,” the Metaverse Navigator chimed.

Makoto let out a gasp.

“Makoto?” Sae’s voice suddenly sounded concerned. “Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine!” Makoto lied. “I just… started to slip while sitting up!”

“Be careful in there,” Sae chided. “I don’t want to have to take you to the hospital.”

“I’ll be careful,” Makoto said, staring down at the phone. _The courthouse… Sis, is it your justice that’s become twisted?_

Not wanting to keep her sister waiting, she drained the bath and quickly dried herself off, putting on the nightgown she brought in with her and, closing out the Meta-Nav, carried her phone with her to the bedroom.

“The bathroom is all yours,” Makoto said. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Sae’s voice replied from the kitchen area.

Makoto frowned, heading into her bedroom, and sitting down on the bed, staring at her reflection in the phone screen. One keyword left...

“No,” she said quietly to herself, setting the phone down and laying back on the bed. They have bigger issues at the moment. Someday she’ll help her sister, for certain. But for now, Sae seemed to be okay. For now, others needed her more. For her new friends, her classmates, and all of Kaneshiro’s victims.

_That is my justice. That is what it means to be a Phantom Thief._


End file.
